Hearing Lu Tianming's request, Murrue was startled, and a trace of concern appeared in her eyes as she looked at him.
When she had previously appointed Lu Tianming as Lacus's guardian, she had already begun to worry that something might go wrong.
Although Lu Tianming had always appeared rational before... he was, after all, a young man in his early twenties, full of vigor and passion.
Moreover, Lacus was a "national-level" beauty. Most people would probably start fantasizing just at the thought of being alone with her. Even if Lu Tianming was calm and rational, she couldn't help but feel somewhat concerned.
So... had this day finally come?
Seeing Murrue's worried expression—her eyebrows nearly knitted together—Lu Tianming sighed helplessly. He realized that Murrue had likely misinterpreted his earlier words and formed some strange assumptions.
"...Don't overthink it. My request isn't solely for personal reasons," Lu Tianming attempted to explain, his gaze sharpening slightly as his tone grew more serious. "I'm asking Lacus to stay for the overall future of the Archangel."
"What does she have to do with the Archangel?" Murrue was puzzled, but seeing the seriousness in Lu Tianming's eyes, she didn't argue and instead followed his line of questioning.
"Once we rendezvous with the Eighth Fleet, the Archangel won't have the same freedom of movement as it does now. By then, the ship will likely be dragged into the power struggles within the Earth Alliance, and it might even become a tool or a sacrifice in factional conflicts."
Lu Tianming wasn't being overly pessimistic. The Earth Alliance was far from unified—even the Space Force and ground forces held vastly different views, as evidenced by Admiral Halberton of the Eighth Fleet in the original storyline, where their perspectives on MS development alone diverged significantly.
Within the Earth Alliance, factions were rampant: the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, and even Blue Cosmos operatives intertwined among them. It was a complete mess.
If the Archangel continued on its current course, it would likely rendezvous with the Eighth Fleet as in the original timeline, descend to Earth, have its crew reassigned by Earth forces, and be sent to Alaska as cannon fodder.
Aside from the sense of belonging he had developed after fighting alongside Murrue and the others for so long... for Xia Chuan's sake alone, he couldn't let the Archangel march to its doom.
Thus, Lacus's presence was necessary. He needed this butterfly to flap its wings and blow the Archangel out of the whirlpool of fate.
"...With Lacus as a variable, we'll have many more options. We won't just be puppets manipulated by our superiors, forced to obey their every command."
As Lu Tianming spoke these words, he deliberately lowered his voice... the topic was gradually becoming dangerous, not something to be discussed openly.
"It can't be that bad... We're about to rendezvous with the Eighth Fleet. Admiral Halberton of the Eighth Fleet is a good man, and he values the Archangel. He wouldn't let something like that happen to us."
Murrue found it somewhat hard to believe, as in her current understanding, after the Archangel rendezvoused with the Eighth Fleet, they would be under their command. The consequences Lu Tianming mentioned shouldn't occur.
If anyone else had said this to her, she probably wouldn't have even offered the earlier explanation, dismissing it with a simple "Don't overthink it."
But it was Lu Tianming who said it... His accurate prediction during the Artemis incident and the bitter consequences of not heeding his advice this time both indicated that his words absolutely could not be taken lightly.
No matter how far-fetched his current words seemed, she had to take them seriously.
At this point, Lu Tianming sighed helplessly. Some developments in the subsequent events couldn't be fully disclosed. After careful consideration, he simply shook his head and said:
"Who knows? Unexpected changes aren't happening for the first time. I'm just speculating. It would be good if we could stay... but if we really do descend to Earth, keeping Lacus as a variable wouldn't leave us completely defenseless."
"Moreover... you should understand that if we actually send her back through diplomatic channels, it would essentially be no different from sending her to her death, right?"
Hearing this last sentence, Murrue suddenly froze.
That's right. Currently, the Patrick Faction dominates PLANT, and they've already attempted to assassinate Lacus once.
Considering sending her back now... would indeed be exactly as Lu Tianming said.
Furthermore, Lu Tianming's previous point was indeed valid. The Archangel's luck seemed particularly poor recently, with almost nothing going according to plan. After rendezvousing, it might truly end up being transferred to Earth as Lu Tianming feared.
Seeing Murrue's hesitant expression, Lu Tianming smiled:
"However... Captain Murrue, you don't need to rush to respond immediately."
"You still have plenty of time to think things through before things truly reach the point of no return."
Hearing Lu Tianming's words, Murrue nodded somewhat obediently... His words were quite impactful, and she needed some time to process and carefully consider them.
However... neither of them noticed that as their conversation ended, a figure at the cafeteria entrance quickly departed as if avoiding them.
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The figure at the entrance was none other than Badgiruel, who had just finished discussions with the vanguard fleet. Having learned that Murrue and Xia Chuan were in the cafeteria, she was preparing to report the meeting contents when she coincidentally overheard Lu Tianming and Murrue's conversation about Lacus.
Although she couldn't hear clearly after Lu Tianming lowered his voice... she had heard his earlier arguments perfectly clearly.
Therefore, without understanding the full picture, Badgiruel immediately reached the same conclusion as Murrue - it was all Lacus's doing!
Although she had previously suspected Lu Tianming of being a spy, since that misunderstanding was cleared up, Badgiruel's impression of him had dramatically improved.
He was decisive and unwavering against enemies, yet tolerant and responsible toward comrades. On the front lines, he could slaughter Coordinators until they were unrecognizable, while in strategic planning he could accurately predict moves—like when he completely stood up Creuset who had attempted to intercept them. His personality was quite agreeable too, as long as his bottom line wasn't crossed. He was practically the ideal teammate.
His only notable flaw was being a bit mentally unhinged, often talking to himself in front of the MS... Even if Machine Spirits truly existed, Lacus felt Lu Tianming's behavior bordered on obsession.
Such an almost-perfect ideal teammate had now suddenly expressed a desire to keep Lacus aboard... Naturally, her first suspicion was whether Lacus had something to do with it.
She stormed over to Lacus's room in a huff... only to find staff there wrapping up the aftermath of the hijacking incident.
After learning Lacus's new room assignment, she charged over again with the same fury. Swiping her deputy Captain's access card to unlock the door, she immediately adopted a stern, interrogative tone:
"What exactly did you say to Lu Tianming earlier? Why does he want to keep you aboard the Archangel?"